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Vote on seawall replacement could hold until 2011

The Seattle City Council could hold off until 2011 before asking voters to approve a bond measure or levy to finance construction of a new Elliott Bay Seawall, according to a briefing Monday.

Replacing the seawall is a large piece of the $841 million in projects the city has agreed to complete as part of the $4.2 billion plan to replace the Alaskan Way Viaduct with a deep-bore tunnel.

Mayor Mike McGinn has proposed a 30-year $235 million bond measure, which he wants to send to voters in November.

According to a City Council staff report, the council could hold off on a decision for the bulk of seawall financing until 2011. Seawall construction is expected to start in 2013 and finish in 2015. A preferred design isn’t expected to be chosen until 2011.

The council’s special committee on the Alaskan Way Viaduct replacement also was presented Monday with two more potential financing packages for the seawall and other work related to the viaduct replacement. Altogether, the city must come up with $302 million in “unsecured funding,” meaning the council must create new taxes to pay for it.

No matter what the choice, paying to park will be more expensive.

McGinn has proposed a bond measure coupled with a 2.5 percent increase in the commercial parking tax, which would generate another $70 million.

According to the staff report , the council also could opt to send voters a 9-year, $165 million levy to pay for the seawall. With the second financing option, the council could raise another $140 million by raising the parking tax by 5 percent, according to the report. One question, posed by Councilmember Tim Burgess, is how high the city could set the parking tax before prices dissuaded people from heading to downtown.

The levy would raise property taxes by $75 on the average Seattle household, more than the $50 a year on the average household under McGinn’s proposal. But the levy would end years sooner than McGinn’s proposal.

A levy also might be a safer bet because it would only require a 50 percent majority vote. The mayor’s proposal would require a 60-percent super-majority.

A third option would be to forgo a ballot measure altogether and instead create a transportation benefits district under which the City Council could impose a $45 vehicle licensing fee to raise $235 million. But under state law, voters must approve a licensing fee above $20. In addition, the parking tax would be increased by 2.5 percent.

Seattle City Councilmember Tom Rasmussen, the transportation committee chair, said last Friday that it might be better to wait until more design work is complete on the seawall before going to voters.

“It might be more likely to succeed if voters knew what the plans and design are,” he said. “Waiting until 2011 wouldn’t slow the project down.”

Even with some extra time to think about a ballot measure, the City Council still would need to decide this year how to raise $70 million for early design work on the seawall, the Mercer Corridor West project and a new waterfront in 2011 and 2012. That money would likely come from a parking tax increase or vehicle licensing fee.

The remainder of the city’s responsibilities outside the seawall include $248 million to relocate utilities strewn along the viaduct and $122 million for street construction on a viaduct-less waterfront in 2015.

The utility work will be paid for with increases in utility rates. The waterfront work would be financed with a special assessment on downtown properties that increase in value with an open waterfront.

The Seattle Department of Transportation hired a consultant, Allen Brackett Shedd, which estimates the opened waterfront will generate $450 to $640 million in benefits to 11,000 downtown properties. In addition, some properties will see increased value from Mercer West and the seawall replacement.

According to Monday’s report, a special assessment on those properties under a Local Improvement District could generate $200 to $225 million, which would cover rebuilding of streets along the waterfront and additional improvements as part of a new waterfront park.

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